14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has enabled a new tablet experience for select users in the Windows Insider program as part of a new build shipped to the Fast ring a few hours ago.
Windows 10 build 19592 brings back this tablet experience after it was first released as an experiment in Windows 10 build 19013 but pulled after that for additional refinements.
“This experience is separate from the Tablet Mode experience that you will still be able to use. This new experience allows users entering tablet posture to stay in the familiar desktop experience without interruption with a few key touch improvements,” Microsoft explains.
The new tablet mode comes with some important changes, all of them allowing the feature overall to make more sense going forward – as many know already, the Windows 10 tablet mode hasn’t really taken off, mostly because many people considered it rather cluttered and difficult to use.
Welcome improvements
So this updated experience comes with taskbar icons that are spaced out, basically making the tablet mode feel more like the desktop. This is without a doubt a good approach, especially because it helps provide more consistency across the operating system.
The search box embedded into the taskbar can now be launched from an icon, while the touch keyboard automatically launches when you tap a text field, something that should have been there from the very beginning.
And of course, there are additional touch improvements for File Explorer, with all elements now featuring more padding to be easier to use with a tap.
“In order to help ensure quality, the feature will be rolling out slowly, starting with a portion of the Insiders that have never detached their keyboard before, or have their tablet mode settings set to Don’t ask me and don’t switch,” Microsoft says.
This new mode is rolling out to users gradually, and an ETA as to when it could go live for production devices isn’t yet available.